Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Two-Book Day Alert! And what a choice I made for a second book! I must admit, though, that I started this one after taking a few hours off after THE ROAD and just finished it a few minutes ago. I put it down a few times this afternoon and came back to finish it after dinner.....
Marisha Pessl's debut novel, SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS, is a lit-major's dream and I'm struggling to think of a major work or important character in the history of all literature that Pessl doesn't drag onto the boat with the reader. Not that I minded. ;)
It's an impressive (and long) debut - and Pessl certainly fills the cup with a motley crew of memorable characters - but, now that it's over, I kind of want more. That's a little odd to say about a book that goes 500+ pages (with no margins at all), but it's how I feel in the moment.
Blue, the central focus of our story, is really a wonder and the kind of character that readers just fall in love with. And as we travel through the most important year in her life, we are just sucked completely into the first novel, and we really never see the second one emerge until it is - literally - too late. 400 pages in, as Pessl's work takes a sharp (too sharp) turn, I felt like I was running to catch up to a story that I needed to keep processing. Much like EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, there's that moment of "what the??" and suddenly all of the pieces fall into place and you realize that you are reading a work of staggering genius...one that you need to go back and restart now that its done.
So - I'm definitely RECOMMENDING the book, but I've got some reservations. A few reviewers have noted that Pessl seems as emotionally disconnected from Blue as Blue is from the world around her, and I'm going to have to throw my hat in that ring as well. I can't take away, though, the real brilliance of the writing, though. It's funny and poignant and rich and dark and sly and delivers an amazing plot twist. It also intelligent - and that counts a lot for me. I'm happy for 2008 so far!
posted by David Quinn @ 1:06 AM
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